Minggu, 09 Februari 2020

Two US service members killed in insider attack in Afghanistan | TheHill - The Hill

Two U.S. service members were killed on Saturday when someone wearing an Afghan army uniform opened fire on them with a machine gun, according to multiple reports.

Six other U.S. service members were injured in the insider attack in Nangahar province, officials said.

“Current reports indicate an individual in an Afghan uniform opened fire on the combined U.S. and Afghan force with a machine gun,” Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said a statement, according to Reuters.

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“We are still collecting information," he said, adding that the motive behind the attack is unknown.

Officials also said that U.S. and Afghan military personnel were targeted while conducting an operation, The Associated Press noted.

The gunman was killed, a member of Nangarhar’s provincial council told the AP.

An unidentified Afghan defense ministry official also said the shooter was an Afghan soldier who had earlier argued with the U.S. forces, the news service reported, adding that the official said the gunman was not a Taliban infiltrator.

Officials said Afghan troops were also killed in the incident, but details on those casualties were not released.

During a surprise Thanksgiving visit to U.S. forces in Afghanistan, President TrumpDonald John Trump Biden says Buttigieg is 'not a Barack Obama' on NH campaign trail Democrats make final pitch at rowdy NH political spectacle Pelosi: Vindman ouster is 'shameful' MORE announced the resumption of peace talks with the Taliban after negotiations broke down earlier last year.

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2020-02-09 12:53:38Z
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Coronavirus updates: 14 Americans aboard quarantined cruise ship now confirmed to have coronavirus - NBC News

• Deaths in mainland China go up to 811, confirmed cases reach more than 37,100

• Six more coronavirus cases, including one American, confirmed on cruise ship off Japan

• Chinese authorities warn about use of masks

• Passengers, crew of quarantined cruise ship in Hong Kong are allowed to disembark

• Four passengers on cruise ship docked in New Jersey test negative for novel coronavirus

• Videos appears to show people forcibly taken for quarantine in China


Coronavirus deaths in mainland China rise to 811, surpass SARS fatalities

The number of deaths from novel coronavirus in mainland China increased to 811 Sunday, health officials with China’s National Health Commission said.

This exceeds the number of deaths reported from the SARS outbreak in 2003, which killed 774 people, according to the World Health Organization.

Outside of China, two people died from the disease in the last two week, one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong, bringing total number of global deaths to at least 813.

As of Sunday, more than 37,198 confirmed cases have been reported on mainland China.

However, officials at China's National Health Commission said the number of confirmed cases reported daily in provinces other than Hubei — the region in central China were the virus is believed to have originated — has dropped from 890 on Feb. 3 to 509 on Feb. 8 — a decrease of nearly 43 percent.

They said this indicated "that preventative and control measures such as joint prevention, control mechanisms and strict management are being implemented and they are effective.” — Leou Chen, Yuliya Talmazan and Reuters

Six more coronavirus cases, including one American, confirmed on cruise ship off Japan

Six more people aboard a cruise ship quarantined in Japan have tested positive for novel coronavirus, bringing the total on the Diamond Princess to 70, Japan’s health ministry said Sunday.

The ministry said one of the six confirmed cases is a woman in her 70s who has Hong Kong residency, but is also a U.S. citizen. That brings the total number of American passengers who were confirmed to have the virus to 14.

Feb. 8, 202002:28

About 3,700 passengers and crew are aboard the ship, but those who tested positive were taken to hospitals.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

The Diamond Princess was quarantined off Yokohama and testing was conducted on 336 passengers after a man who had been on the ship last month was later confirmed to have the virus.

Princess Cruises, the company that owns the ship, said in a statement Saturday the ship has received more medication, which is being distributed based on medical and urgent priority.

Telephone access with trained counselors has also been arranged for guests experiencing mental stress, the company said.

The quarantine is expected to last until Feb. 19.— Arata Yamamoto and Yuliya Talmazan

Chinese authorities warn about use of masks

Officials with China’s National Development and Reform Commission warned against “excessive and improper” use of protective masks.

The demand for respiratory masks has surged in China during the outbreak.

Passengers wearing protective face masks travel on a subway train in Shanghai, China on Sunday.NOEL CELIS / AFP - Getty Images

“With regard to the use of masks, we once again propose that you use them scientifically,” said Chen Da, deputy director of economic and trade department at the state body.

“Avoid excessive and improper use and save mask resources,” he added.

The World Health Organization has also advised “rational use of medical masks” to avoid “unnecessary wastage of precious resources and potential mis-use of masks.”

The organization advised using masks only if one has respiratory symptoms (coughing or sneezing) or is caring for someone with suspected infection. — Leou Chen and Yuliya Talmazan

Passengers, crew of quarantined cruise ship in Hong Kong allowed to leave

Hong Kong health officials said Sunday all passengers and crew members aboard a cruise ship that has been in quarantine in Hong Kong over fears of coronavirus spread aboard can now leave the ship.

"With the help of the cruise company and people on board, the Health Department already completed sample collection yesterday,” said Leung Yiu-hung, chief port health officer from Hong Kong’s health ministry.

"The results show that all people on board are negative to coronavirus tests,” Leung said, adding that all passengers and crew members are allowed to disembark.

Feb. 6, 202001:12

Earlier this week, Hong Kong’s health ministry said three people who tested positive were on board the ship during a previous voyage that took place between Jan. 19 and 24.

That prompted a mass health screening of the 3,600 passengers and crew members on board. — Jasmine Leung

Four passengers on cruise ship docked in New Jersey test negative

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy confirmed Sunday four passengers from a cruise ship docked in Bayonne tested negative for novel coronavirus.

Royal Caribbean said Saturday that the departure of its Anthem of the Seas cruise from New Jersey will be delayed another two days, until Monday, to allow continued testing of passengers from the ship's prior cruise.

When the ship returned to Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the vessel to screen 27 passengers who had recently traveled from mainland China.

Four of those passengers were taken to a hospital for evaluation and tested negative. Another 23 people were to return to China.

“New Jersey currently has no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and the risk to residents remains low,” Murphy said. — Phil McCausland and Yuliya Talmazan

Videos appears to show people forcibly taken for quarantine in China

Two videos have surfaced on social media that appear to show people in China being taken into quarantine over the coronavirus.

Posted to Twitter on Friday, one of them showed several people wearing white protective suits apparently forcibly removing three people from an apartment. One of the people appeared to struggled before they were led away.

The video was taken in the city of Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, at the home of a family who had returned from Hubei Province, according to The Associated Press, citing a report Wednesday in the official provincial media outlet, Jiangsu Communication Broadcasting Station.

A second video posted to Twitter Thursday, appeared to show two people hugging in the city of Suzhou, also in Jiangsu Province. One of them was then escorted into what looks like an isolation container on the back of a government vehicle.

It's unclear when either video was filmed.Minyvonne Burke, Suzanne Ciechalski, Leou Chen and Dawn Liu

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2020-02-09 11:32:00Z
CAIiEO_aLeJXLwogwkCWz40YDFcqGQgEKhAIACoHCAowvIaCCzDnxf4CMM2F8gU

Two U.S. Service Members Killed in Eastern Afghanistan - The Wall Street Journal

Afghan soldiers on patrol in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province on Sunday.

Photo: ghulamullah habibi/Shutterstock

KABUL—An Afghan soldier killed two American service members and wounded six other U.S. military personnel in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

The incident occurred in Nangarhar province, an area where U.S. and Afghan forces have been fighting both Taliban and Islamic State fighters. Nangarhar is considered one of the more dangerous areas in the country.

“Current reports indicate an individual in an Afghan army uniform opened fire on the combined U.S. and Afghan force with a machine gun,” said Col. Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for the U.S. command in Afghanistan early Sunday.

Ajmal Omar, deputy chief of the Nangarhar provincial council, said both American and Afghan forces were visiting an army base in Sherzad district on Saturday afternoon when an Afghan soldier opened fire on American troops. American soldiers then killed the shooter, he added.

Another member of the provincial council, Obaidullah Shinwari, said the attack was caused by a verbal argument between the two sides.

Six injured U.S. service members are receiving medical treatment at a U.S. facility, Col. Leggett said in a statement Sunday. He added that the incident is under investigation and “the cause or motive behind the attack is unknown at this time.”

In accordance with Pentagon policy, the service members killed in the incident weren’t identified.

More than 2,400 troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001.

Saturday’s attack comes as the Trump administration struggles to determine the way forward in the war, now in its 18th year. Mr. Trump has sought to end so-called endless wars, including in Afghanistan, but the Pentagon still maintains about 13,000 troops there.

Officials have worked toward a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban, but the path remains elusive and such talks, which restarted in December, haven’t made substantive progress, officials said.

Regardless of the outcome of that process, Mr. Trump has vowed to reduce the number of American forces in Afghanistan, and officials have said the initial reduction could bring home as many as 4,000 troops, leaving a total of about 8,600 troops on the ground there.

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2020-02-09 10:53:00Z
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Thailand shooting spree leaves 26 dead, 57 wounded, officials say; suspect is fatally shot - Fox News

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand — A soldier with a grudge gunned down 26 people and wounded 57 in Thailand's worst shooting spree before he was fatally shot inside a mall in the country's northeast on Sunday, officials said.

Officials said the soldier was angry over a financial dispute, first killing two people on a military base and then went on a far bloodier rampage Saturday, shooting as he drove to the mall where shoppers fled in terror.

It took police sharpshooters 16 hours to end the crisis.

THAI SOLDIER ACCUSED OF KILLING MULTIPLE PEOPLE DURING SHOOTING RAMPAGE AT BUSY SHOPPING CENTER HAS BEEN FATALLY SHOT, OFFICIALS SAY

Authorities said Sgt. Maj. Jakrapanth Thomma was behind the attack in Nakhon Ratchasima, a hub for Thailand’s relatively poorer and rural northeastern region. Much of the shooting took place at Terminal 21 Korat, an airport-themed mall filled with colorful Lego sculptures, a merry-go-round and huge replicas of landmarks from around the world.

Medics carry a stretcher towards Terminal 21 Korat mall as commando soldiers work the scene of a shooting at the mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

Medics carry a stretcher towards Terminal 21 Korat mall as commando soldiers work the scene of a shooting at the mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

“This incident was unprecedented in Thailand,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters as he gave the final tally Sunday morning after visiting the wounded in hospitals.

"I hope this is the only one and the last incident, and that it never happens again. No one wants this to happen. It could be because of this person's mental health in this particular moment,” he said.

"This incident was unprecedented in Thailand. I hope this is the only one and the last incident, and that it never happens again."

— Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha

Prayuth said he was worried that people inside the mall could be accidentally hit by bullets fired by police, but added, "I have checked, that didn’t happen.”

A relative of a victim in the mass shooting is comforted outside the emergency room iwhere victims are being treated in Korat, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

A relative of a victim in the mass shooting is comforted outside the emergency room iwhere victims are being treated in Korat, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

Video taken outside the mall showed people diving for cover as shots rang out mid-afternoon Saturday. Many were killed outside the mall, some in cars, others while walking.

Nattaya Nganiem and her family had just finished eating and were driving away when she heard gunfire.

“First I saw a woman run out from the mall hysterically,” said Nattaya, who shot video of the scene on her phone. “Then a motorcycle rider in front of her just ran and left his motorcycle there.”

Hundreds of people were evacuated from the mall in small batches by police while they searched for the gunman.

"We were scared and ran to hide in toilets," said Sumana Jeerawattanasuk, one of those rescued by police. She said seven or eight people hid in the same room as her.

"I am so glad. I was so scared of getting hurt," she said.

"We were scared and ran to hide in toilets. I am so glad [to be safe]. I was so scared of getting hurt."

— Sumana Jeerawattanasuk, rescued by police

Shortly before midnight, police announced they had secured the above-ground portion of the mall, but were still searching for the shooter. About 16 hours later, officials held a news conference outside the mall to announce the gunman was fatally shot.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kongcheep told Thai media that the first person killed was the commanding officer of the 22nd Ammunition Battalion, in which the suspect also served. He said the gunman had fired at others at his base and took guns and ammunition before fleeing in an army Humvee.

Bullet holes mark the glass wall of the Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

Bullet holes mark the glass wall of the Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

City and neighborhood police officers, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to release information, said the man fired shots as he drove to the mall. Thai Rath television aired mall security camera footage showing a man with what appeared to be an assault rifle.

The man also posted updates to his Facebook page during the rampage.

"No one can escape death," read one post. Another asked, “Should I give up?" In a later post, he wrote, “I have stopped already.”

A photo circulated on social media that appeared to be taken from the Facebook page shows a man wearing a green camouflaged military helmet while a fireball and black smoke rage behind him. Jakrapanth’s profile picture shows him in a mask and dressed in military-style fatigues and armed with a pistol. The background image is of a handgun and bullets. The Facebook page was made inaccessible after the shooting began.

Terminal 21 Korat, a multi-level glass and steel mall, is designed to resemble an airport terminal, complete with a mock control tower and departure gates. A large model passenger jet dangles from wires beside one of the main escalators.

Each of its seven retail floors is decorated to represent a different country. A giant replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower soars to the ceiling, while a model of London’s Big Ben dominates another area, and a massive model of California’s Golden Gate Bridge spans an open courtyard. A two-story golden Oscar statue towers over a food court.

Armed commando soldiers shout for ambulance outside Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

Armed commando soldiers shout for ambulance outside Terminal 21 Korat mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. (Associated Press)

Many malls in Thailand, including Terminal 21’s namesake in Bangkok, have metal detectors and security cameras at entrances manned by uniformed but unarmed security guards. Checks on those entering are often cursory at best.

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In Bangkok, the original Terminal 21 in the bustling heart of the city was filled with shoppers as usual Sunday morning. There were no signs of increased security or commemoration of the tragedy that unfolded a few hours’ drive away.

Gun violence is not unheard of in Thailand. Firearms can be obtained legally, and many Thais own guns. Mass shootings are rare, though there are occasional gun battles in the far south of the country, where authorities have for years battled a long-running separatist insurgency.

The incident in Korat comes just a month after another high-profile mall shooting, in the central Thai city of Lopburi. In that case, a masked gunman carrying a handgun with a silencer killed three people, including a 2-year-old boy, and wounded four others as he robbed a jewelry store. A suspect, a school director, was arrested less than two weeks later and reportedly confessed, saying he did not mean to shoot anyone.

Vejpongsa reported from Bangkok. Associated Press journalists Grant Peck, Preeyapa T. Khunsong and Adam Schreck contributed to this report.

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2020-02-09 09:22:35Z
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Sabtu, 08 Februari 2020

Coronavirus Live Updates: More Than 800 Have Died in China, Surpassing Toll From SARS - The New York Times

Credit...Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The coronavirus death toll in China has risen to 811, surpassing the toll from the SARS epidemic of 2002-3, according to official data released on Sunday.

The number of confirmed infections rose to 37,198, according to China’s National Health Commission. Eighty-nine deaths and 2,656 new cases were recorded in the preceding 24 hours, most of them in Hubei Province, the heart of the outbreak. A United States citizen died from the coronavirus in Wuhan, the provincial capital of Hubei, American officials said on Saturday.

The SARS epidemic, which also began in China, killed 774 people worldwide. There have been only two confirmed deaths from the new coronavirus outside mainland China — one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.

Many doctors believe that deaths and infections from the current epidemic in China are undercounted because testing facilities at hospitals and laboratories are under severe strain.

The number of new cases confirmed in the country has stabilized in recent days, but World Health Organization officials cautioned against reading too much into those numbers, saying that Wuhan and Hubei were still in the midst of a “very intense outbreak.”

“It’s very, very early to make any predictions,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the W.H.O.’s health emergencies program. “This is still a very, very intense outbreak in Wuhan and Hubei.”

The measures put in place in Hubei appear to be “paying off,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the W.H.O.’s director general, but he warned that the course of outbreaks like these is unpredictable. “We have to understand it with caution because it can show stability for a few days and then they can shoot up,” he said. “I’ve said it many times, it’s slow now but it may accelerate.”

For China’s leader, Xi Jinping, the outbreak is not just a health crisis, but a political one: a test of the authoritarian system he has built around himself. As his government struggles to contain the virus amid rising public discontent with its performance, the changes that Mr. Xi has ushered in could make it difficult for him to escape blame.

“It’s a big shock to the legitimacy of the ruling party. I think it could be only second to the June 4 incident of 1989. It’s that big,” said Rong Jian, a writer about politics in Beijing, referring to the armed crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters that year.

The Coronavirus Outbreak

  • What do you need to know? Start here.

    Updated Feb. 5, 2020

    • Where has the virus spread?
      You can track its movementwith this map.
    • How is the United States being affected?
      There have been at least a dozen cases. American citizens and permanent residents who fly to the United States from China are now subject to a two-week quarantine.
    • What if I’m traveling?
      Several countries, including the United States, have discouraged travel to China, and several airlines have canceled flights.Many travelers have been left in limbo while looking to change or cancel bookings.
    • How do I keep myself and others safe?
      Washing your hands is the most important thing you can do.

“There’s no doubt about his control over power,” he added, “but the manner of control and its consequences have hurt his legitimacy and reputation.”

Mr. Xi himself has recognized what is at stake, calling the outbreak “a major test of China’s system and capacity for governance.”

Yet as China’s battle with the coronavirus intensified, Mr. Xi put the country’s No. 2 leader, Li Keqiang, in charge of a leadership group handling the emergency, effectively turning him into the public face of the government’s response. It was Mr. Li who traveled to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to visit doctors.

That was not without precedent, though it stood out in this crisis, after previous Chinese leaders had used times of disaster to try to show a more common touch. State television and newspapers almost always lead with fawning coverage of Mr. Xi’s every move.

Mr. Xi’s retreat from the spotlight, some analysts said, signaled an effort to insulate himself from a campaign that may falter and draw public ire. Yet Mr. Xi has consolidated power, sidelining or eliminating rivals, so there are few people left to blame when something goes wrong.

The Chinese government has announced a temporary name for the illness caused by the coronavirus, ordering the local authorities and the state news media to adopt it. In English, it will be called N.C.P., for novel coronavirus pneumonia, the national health commission said on Saturday.

A final, official name will eventually be chosen by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The organization has submitted a name to a scientific journal for publication and hopes to reveal it within days, the BBC reported.

The naming of viral illnesses is a complicated matter that involves both science and public relations. Past names, like the Spanish flu or Rift Valley fever, have been seen as contributing to the stigmatization of countries or regions. In 2015, the World Health Organization issued new guidelines, after the choice of the name for Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, was criticized.

As well as avoiding place names, those guidelines recommend not using people’s names (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Chagas disease), animal names (swine flu, equine encephalitis), cultural or occupational references (Legionnaires’ disease) or words that induce fear (unknown, death, fatal, epidemic).

The W.H.O. has recommended its own temporary name for the new illness: 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease, or 2019-nCoV. But the name is difficult to pronounce, and has been less popular than “coronavirus,” which describes a larger category of viruses.

“We thought it was very important to put out an interim name so that no location was associated with the name,” Maria Van Kerkhove, a W.H.O. epidemiologist, told the body’s executive board on Friday.

The first confirmed death of an American citizen in the coronavirus outbreak, which the United States Embassy in Beijing reported on Saturday, is likely to raise questions about whether the State Department has done enough to ensure the safety of Americans in China.

Few details about the American, who died in Wuhan on Thursday, were immediately available. The embassy said the person was 60 years old. Two people familiar with the matter said the person was a woman and had underlying health conditions.

It was not clear whether the person had tried to leave Wuhan on any of the flights organized by the State Department, which have evacuated diplomats and other American citizens from the city and other parts of China.

In a statement, the State Department took a defensive tone, saying that since Jan. 29, it had evacuated around 850 people, most of them Americans, on five charter flights out of Wuhan.

The agency said it had “no higher priority than the welfare and safety of U.S. citizens abroad,” but there are no current plans to conduct additional flights, even as some Americans elsewhere in China have been asking to be evacuated.

The State Department said Americans should heed its Feb. 2 advisory not to travel to China. To demonstrate that its flights appeared to have met the immediate needs of Americans in Wuhan, the department said that its last charter flight, on Thursday, had extra seats after accommodating all Americans on the manifest, so officials were able to offer seats to more than 30 Canadians.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the United States was prepared to spend up to $100 million to help China and other countries fight the epidemic. He also said the State Department had helped transport about 18 tons of donated medical supplies, including masks, gowns and gauze, to China in the past week.

Additionally, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been offering to send a team of experts to China to observe the outbreak and help if possible. But no invitation has come. Alex Azar, the secretary of health and human services, said at a news briefing on Friday that he had recently reiterated the C.D.C. offer to his Chinese counterpart, Dr. Ma Xiaowei.

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2020-02-09 06:28:00Z
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Thailand shooting: Soldier kills 21 in gun rampage - BBC News

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A soldier has killed 21 people and injured dozens more in a gun rampage in the Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Jakraphanth Thomma on Saturday killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp.

The suspect continued his attack in a shopping centre, where he is still believed to be holed up, initially posting updates on his social media.

Security forces are in the complex and have rescued hundreds while searching for the gunman, with shots ringing out.

The gunman's motives remain unclear.

What is the situation now?

The Terminal 21 shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, remains sealed off on Sunday.

Shortly after 03:00 local time (20:00 GMT Saturday) gunfire was heard as the security forces raided the building, trying to dislodge the gunman.

One member of the security forces was killed and two injured.

Several people were led out of the centre, but it is not known how many more people are still trapped inside.

Earlier reports said the gunman had tried to escape via the back of the building.

The Bangkok Post reported earlier that the suspect, who it said was 32 years old, had taken hostages, but this also has not been officially confirmed.

The suspect's mother was also brought to the shopping centre to try to persuade him to give himself up.

One of the people freed told the BBC how she and others hid in a bathroom on the fourth floor, before fleeing to the second and hiding under a restaurant table for three hours, hearing at least four gunshots before she saw some soldiers and could get to safety.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul earlier said that 16 people had died at the scene of the shootings, with another four dying later in hospital.

A total of 31 people have been injured, with 10 of them in a critical condition. But there are fears the numbers could rise.

How did the attack unfold?

It began at about 15:30 local time on Saturday (08:30 GMT) at the Suatham Phithak military camp, where the commanding officer, named by the Bangkok Post as Col Anantharot Krasae, was killed.

The Post said a 63-year-old woman, Col Anantharot's mother-in-law, and another soldier were also killed there.

The suspect seized arms and ammunition from the camp before taking a Humvee-type vehicle.

He then opened fire at a number of sites before arriving at Terminal 21 at about 18:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

Local media footage appeared to show the suspect getting out of his vehicle and firing shots as people fled.

CCTV footage showed him inside the shopping centre with a raised rifle.

Other footage showed a fire outside the building, with some reports saying it was caused by a gas canister that exploded when it was hit with a bullet. One of the suspect's social media posts featured an image of himself with the fire in the background.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is following developments and expressed condolences to the families of those killed, a spokeswoman said.

The public health minister has put out an appeal for people to donate blood at hospitals in the area.

What did the suspect post on social media?

He posted on his social media accounts during the attack, with one post on Facebook asking whether he should surrender.

He had earlier posted an image of a pistol with three sets of bullets, along with the words "it is time to get excited" and "nobody can avoid death".

Facebook has now taken the page down.

It said: "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the community affected by this tragedy in Thailand. There is no place on Facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack."


Are you in the area? Have you been affected? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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2020-02-09 02:39:31Z
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Thailand shooting: Soldier kills 21 in gun rampage - BBC News

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A soldier has killed 21 people and injured dozens more in a gun rampage in the Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Jakraphanth Thomma on Saturday killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp.

The suspect continued his attack in a shopping centre, where he is still believed to be holed up, initially posting updates on his social media.

Security forces are in the complex and have rescued hundreds while searching for the gunman, with shots ringing out.

The gunman's motives remain unclear.

What is the situation now?

The Terminal 21 shopping centre in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, remains sealed off on Sunday.

Shortly after 03:00 local time (20:00 GMT Saturday) gunfire was heard as the security forces raided the building, trying to dislodge the gunman.

One member of the security forces was killed and two injured.

Several people were led out of the centre, but it is not known how many more people are still trapped inside.

Earlier reports said the gunman had tried to escape via the back of the building.

The Bangkok Post reported earlier that the suspect, who it said was 32 years old, had taken hostages, but this also has not been officially confirmed.

The suspect's mother was also brought to the shopping centre to try to persuade him to give himself up.

One of the people freed told the BBC how she and others hid in a bathroom on the fourth floor, before fleeing to the second and hiding under a restaurant table for three hours, hearing at least four gunshots before she saw some soldiers and could get to safety.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul earlier said that 16 people had died at the scene of the shootings, with another four dying later in hospital.

A total of 31 people have been injured, with 10 of them in a critical condition. But there are fears the numbers could rise.

How did the attack unfold?

It began at about 15:30 local time on Saturday (08:30 GMT) at the Suatham Phithak military camp, where the commanding officer, named by the Bangkok Post as Col Anantharot Krasae, was killed.

The Post said a 63-year-old woman, Col Anantharot's mother-in-law, and another soldier were also killed there.

The suspect seized arms and ammunition from the camp before taking a Humvee-type vehicle.

He then opened fire at a number of sites before arriving at Terminal 21 at about 18:00 local time (11:00 GMT).

Local media footage appeared to show the suspect getting out of his vehicle and firing shots as people fled.

CCTV footage showed him inside the shopping centre with a raised rifle.

Other footage showed a fire outside the building, with some reports saying it was caused by a gas canister that exploded when it was hit with a bullet. One of the suspect's social media posts featured an image of himself with the fire in the background.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is following developments and expressed condolences to the families of those killed, a spokeswoman said.

The public health minister has put out an appeal for people to donate blood at hospitals in the area.

What did the suspect post on social media?

He posted on his social media accounts during the attack, with one post on Facebook asking whether he should surrender.

He had earlier posted an image of a pistol with three sets of bullets, along with the words "it is time to get excited" and "nobody can avoid death".

Facebook has now taken the page down.

It said: "Our hearts go out to the victims, their families and the community affected by this tragedy in Thailand. There is no place on Facebook for people who commit this kind of atrocity, nor do we allow people to praise or support this attack."


Are you in the area? Have you been affected? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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2020-02-09 02:09:02Z
52780596816508